Sober
by Zane's Girl- Jo
Summary: After Elphaba's death, Glinda realizes that she is the only one left. With the party over, why does she feel sober instead of numb? Or are being numb and being sober one in the same? If so, they lead to devestating consequences. WARNING! CHARACTER DEATH!


**Sober**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**Summary: After Elphaba's death, Glinda realizes that she is the only one left. With the party over, why does she feel sober instead of numb? Or are being numb and being sober one in the same? If so, they lead to devestating consequences..... WARNING!!! CHARACTER DEATH!!!**

Numb.

She was numb. Completely, deathly, soberly, numb.

Blinded by icy tears, she stumbled down the stairs, the bottle and hat in her embrace. Finally, she collapsed at the foot of the stairs, and sat, clutching the hat to her chest, the bottle falling from her hands to the floor. It rolled, stopping near something on the floor near the door. Slowly, she set the hat down, and crawled towards the bottle. Her fingers brushed over the object, and she picked it up.

A locket.

A pretty, gold locket.

EMT.

Her breath caught.

Elphaba Melena Thropp.

With shaky fingers, she opened it, revealing a portrait of a little green-skinned girl with a beautiful young woman. Two pairs of eyes stared back at her, one dark brown, the other light blue. Both wore smiles. Slowly, she closed the locket, and turned it over, looking at the back. In beautiful script, read

_My green butterfly, _

_I love you Fabala, _

_Mama_

She let out a sob, clutching the necklace in her fist, tears running down her cheeks. She remembered Elphaba showing her the necklace back at Shiz. She never took it off. So why had she when she died?

Upset, she climbed to her feet, and picked up the bottle and hat, before making her way through the castle. Finally, she summoned her bubble, and left, going to Colwen Grounds, unsure of why, but going because she felt she had to. Once she got there, she wandered through the decrepit mansion, feeling the whispers of ghosts reaching out for her.

Everywhere she turned, she saw Elphaba; on the stairs, in the parlor, in the garden. Finally, she climbed the stairs to the attic where Elphaba had slept as a child. The door creaked open, and Glinda took in what was left of her old friend's childhood room.

The bed was stripped, the desk hacked to pieces, the mirror cracked. The silver handled brush and comb were gone, taken by looters; the dresses and shoes stolen. All that remained that had once belonged to the eldest Thropp sister, was the locket. As Glinda stood in front of the mirror, she clasped the necklace around her neck, and then adjusted it.

What she caught in the mirror startled her more than anything. She screamed, and stumbled back, before turning, to find herself alone. After several moments, she turned back to the cracked mirror, watching her reflection. Something curled up on the windowseat, and on closer inspection, she saw that it was.....

....a young girl.

A pretty young girl, with long, thick, raven hair, dark brown eyes, and emerald skin, dressed in a light blue dress with black lace trim, high button boots, and a light blue ribbon holding her long black hair back. The locket hung around her neck, and she hugged her knees to her chest, watching Glinda.

Slowly, Glinda turned around, to see the girl sitting behind her, watching her. Her breath caught in her throat, and cautiously, she moved towards the girl. She didn't even notice the whisper escape her mouth,

"Elphie?"

The girl didn't move, just stared at her, as Glinda reached out to touch her; only to find her hand go through the girl's shoulder. The girl didn't move, didn't speak, just watched, before getting up and going to the door. She turned back to look at Glinda.

"Come and play."

Glinda blinked, and she was gone. Taking a shaky breath, she sank to the floor, the words in her head. Quickly, she conjured her bubble, and left, going back to the palace, refusing to look back.....

She burst into her room, and rushed to her desk. Pulling out a sheet of stationary and a pen, she began to write, fingers shaking.

_I don't wanna be the girl who laughs the loudest_  
_Or the girl who never wants to be alone_  
___I don't wanna be the girl that has to fill the silence_  
_The quiet scares me 'cause it screams the truth__  
____When it's good, then it's good, it's so good 'til it goes bad_  
_'Til you're trying to find the you that you once had_  
I have heard myself cry 'never again'  
_Broken down in agony, just tryin' find a friend_  
_That's not the way I want my story to end_

It was an odd note, not making sense to any but Glinda herself. Slowly, she got up, leaving the note on the desk, and going to her bed. Stripping it quickly of the sheets, she found herself gazing at the hat and bottle, one thought in her mind,

_No pain inside, you're my protection. Elphie, y__ou're like perfection, but how do I feel this good sober?_

"I....I'm falling, and if I let myself go I'm the only one to blame."

It was soft, almost as though she hadn't spoken at all. Slowly, she looked up, to see the girl at the window, looking in. Dropping the sheets, she went to the child, opening the window, and letting her in. The girl didn't enter. Instead, she backed up.

"I won't hurt you."

The child nodded, silent. After a moment, she entered the room, eyes on Glinda. Silent, she reached out to touch her.

_"Come and play."_

It was soft, lilting. Glinda winced, as the girl's hand passed through her, but she endured it, never taking her eyes away. Finally, Glinda nodded.

Robotically, she went to work, hanging the sheets from the ceiling. The last thing she remembered, was kicking the chair over....

.....she awoke, to see a young girl- the same young girl she'd seen earlier- sitting next to her. Slowly, they climbed to their feet, and took hands. After a while, the girl pulled away.

"Wait-"

She disappeared, running into the distance, Glinda following. When she finally stopped, she searched for the girl, only to have her eyes rest on a figure not far away. Her breath in her throat, she asked,

"Elphaba?"

Quickly, the girl rushed to her, as Glinda raced to meet her. Their arms flew around each other, and they savored the embrace, shoulders shaking with sobs.

"Oh Elphie, I missed you. So much."

"But you're here. We're together...."

"Forever."

Elphaba nodded.

"Forever."

..... the next morning, the maid found Glinda the Good, hanging in the middle of her room, the bedsheets tight around her neck, the note on the desk.

_That's not the way I want my story to end....._

_....Sober_


End file.
